Analytical Studies on Seismic Performance of Multi-Story Coupled Piping System in a Low-Rise Building

The construction costs for nonstructural systems such as mechanical/electrical equipment, ceiling system, and piping system occupy a significant proportion of the total cost. These nonstructural systems can also cause considerable economic losses and loss of life during and after an earthquake. Therefore, reduction of seismic risk of nonstructural components has been emerging as a key aspect of research in recent year. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the seismic performance of a single-story and multi-story piping system installed in low-rise building and to identify the seismic vulnerability of the current piping systems. The seismic performance evaluation of the piping systems was conducted with 5 different earthquakes to account for the ground motion uncertainty and the preliminary results demonstrated that the maximum displacements of each floor in the multi-story piping system increased linearly with increasing floor level in the building system. This study revealed that the current design piping systems are significantly sensitive to the effect of floor height, which stress the necessity to improve the seismic performance of the current piping systems by, for example, strengthening with seismic sway bracing using transverse/longitudinal bracing cables or hangers.